SCREAM Series Analysis Part 1 (Scream 1-3)

Overview

Hello, my name is Sophie Reid. With Scream 5 out this year, and my new budget Samson Go desktop mic here, I thought I would do something fun and cover the Scream franchise in its entirety. Although for this part, it'll only be films 1-3. I’ll be reviewing the plot of each film, the killers, creativity of the kills, as well as the overall film and shot quality. In my opinion And then ranking them based on that.

I’m a pretty big fan of the series. But this is my first review on the channel, so I'm still getting used to formatting. Anyway, I'll try to talk about all 5 movies as best I can.

So, to summarise all the three movies that will be covered in this post, they include Wes Craven's New Nightmare 2 (Scream 1), disguised romantic comedy-drama and psycho-thriller (Scream 2), and "why the can't four people overpower one guy in a Halloween costume" (Scream 3).

But before we go into Scream 1, I'm first going to quickly talk about its history. Around the 1990s, the popular slasher genre was dying out.

And you can kind of tell how much interest was being lost from 1989 up to before the release of Scream 1 in 1996, from every slasher sequel in that time making half as much money compared to before. With the only new slasher in that time, Candyman, scraping by with roughly the same amount. Then, in 1998 they decided to reboot Child’s Play. Which, post-Scream made twice as much money compared to the previous instalment. And more reboots, as well as new horrors, followed suit.

So the revitalization of the slasher for modern cinema is owed mostly to Scream and Wes Craven. The series was so popular at the time that they pushed back James Bond and the now third highest grossing film of all-time, James Cameron’s Titanic, to not have to compete with Scream 2. That was a bit of an overestimate. But Scream bringing in a new era of horror is definitely one of the reasons to like the series, besides the fact that it has the most consistent track record in terms of quality films under its name, is the most meta and intentionally funny, and is also, in my opinion, the most fun slasher series overall.

Scream 1 (1996)

I’m going to go over it a little more briefly compared to the other films, since it’s the oldest, I’m sure most people have seen it many times. There's not a lot you can go wrong with. It’s a solid film, with plenty of new fun characters, and scenes of them getting stabbed to go along with. Although the only person who got stabbed for real was Skeet Ulrich. The twist ending is scary and memorable, although everything else up to that point, especially the initial chase scene and one towards the end with Sidney, are fun too.

The final girl is Sidney, who is definitely one of if not the most self-aware and capable slasher protagonist. Neve Campbell is pretty likeable and entertaining, and having a sharp, witty character in a horror that essentially parodies other horrors pays off. She brings some humour, and actually makes fairly reasonable decisions. Apart from running outside when she’s called by the killer, after being told that he’s outside.

Next character is Gale. She’s a suspect up to a point and acts as a side-antagonist. But as is revealed (spoilers), what she’s saying throughout the film is true. Not everyone likes her actor Courtney Cox, but I enjoy her. Probably more because of the Dewey romance which is on the side lines here and brings out the better side of Cox and her character. Because the actors would later marry in real life. Plus, I respect the decision to have a cold, unemotional, and ambition-driven female character, and in the 90's no less.

Then there's Dewey. I enjoy him a bit less in this film compared to other instalments, but as the comic relief cop, he works just fine. David Arquette was going to be one of the options to play Billy Loomis, but he wanted this role instead. And to that effect he does a great job. In the later films, he’s my favourite character, since he’s usually the most helpful. And the more humour in a horror parody the better.

(More Spoilers)

Honestly, I think the rest of the cast for this film though, in terms of killer suspects, isn’t that strong. It’s clearly going to be Billy and that’s teased from the very beginning. With the only clue shown to the audience being that the killer is a film buff, and Billy makes an Exorcist reference in his introduction. Matthew Lillard as Stu is a bit more surprising. A lot of people don’t suspect him since his character is so over-the-top, but it works somehow and he delivers a few hilarious lines. Most of which were improv.

I also like the amount of times Randy, who is innocent, interacts with Stu, trying to convince Billy he’s a killer while Stu is of course his accomplice. It really adds impact to re-watching it.

As for the high school friend group, no one really cares about them. The girl with the beer bottles at least put up a fight, the opening kill with Drew Barrymore is arguably the best scene in the franchise, and apart from Randy who is hilarious, everyone else is dead meat.

Now, for the kills. The opening, like I said, is the best. There aren't very many deaths in this movie compared to the rest when you think about it, it’s mostly chase scenes. The shot in the supermarket in broad daylight is a bit ridiculous. The first attack on Sidney though is good. Blonde girl garage door death, pretty brutal but the lead up to it was good. But, I don’t think garage doors are that strong. I like that you only see her body later in close up. The principal’s death only exists because Craven thought it had been too long since someone died. His is out of place, but the extreme zooming close up of the eye, and Ghostface's reflection in it, is really nice. And I love the music, too. The shot might've inspired the poster.

Gale’s assistant cameraman’s death is next. It’s bloody and simple, but effective, considering how sudden it is in the film's runtime, and with the added twist of the VCR tape. But, how kind of Ghostface to give a dying man time to speak and help Sidney before he dies. Sometimes you just have to suspend disbelief.

Stu’s death by TV. It’s iconic and a fitting end. The erratic, fast montage of shots from different angles as he's being electrocuted really sells it. And lastly, immediately after that is Billy’s death, which, for the sake of the punchline and the dramatics I’d also rate quite highly.

But the most integral part of any Scream film is the third act and final reveal. Although as I said, Billy was obvious--but having two killers was a curveball at the time. Now, not so much that it's a franchise staple. The ending of this first Scream is the most cat and mouse of any of them. And I genuinely thought it was Randy at first, but the leadup to the unmasking is clever and keeps the audience second guessing themselves. Also, the improv of Matthew Lillard reacting to being hit with the phone is the funniest scene in the film. Anyway, I like Billy and Stu and you can definitely see a flair of each of their characters in the Ghostface appearances. The scene where they're stabbing each other is still tough to watch even now.

Overall, the first film's fun, smart for the time, and straight forward but thrilling. 8.5/10.

Scream 2

2 is an interesting one, because it’s one of--or, well, actually it’s the only slasher I can think of where critics really like it and even think it’s better than the original. Audience opinion is more mixed. It’s more violent than the first film, but at the same time it’s a slow burn and plot-focused. Which obviously isn’t something all horror fans are into. It’s a bit divisive, but most people agree on it being okay.

The first definitely has more raw entertainment value. But the quality of filmmaking in Scream 2 is on par, and the storytelling is a little more interesting. I’ve seen Scream 2 twice, the second time more recently, and on re-watching it I even like it a little bit more. First, the characters:

Neve Campbell is just as strong here in 2. Her personal struggles in the film include being traumatised by the turning of her boyfriend in 1 and the past murder events. Her internal conflict is that she's feeling like she’s reliving those past horrors. But, she deals with those circumstances admirably well.

Let’s talk about the new characters before any of the other recurring ones, though. The college campus guys are Mickey, and Derek, Sidney’s new boyfriend. Derek was originally going to be one of the killers, but they changed this at the last minute when the script was leaked. I think this change is better, as they both have about the same amount of screen time. Mickey as the killer I quite enjoy, although he doesn’t have nearly enough screen time. As a result, the killer does not carry the weight of Scream 1.

The other killer though is one of the reasons why I think fans are not so crazy about Scream 2. And that’s Mrs. Loomis. Having a middle-aged woman crazed by the loss of her serial killer son might not seem as intimidating, but the concept of murder running in the family is something I’ve always enjoyed and found a bit creepy. She is a little too over the top, kind of acting in the place of Scream 1’s Stu, only this time being the mastermind instead of an accomplice. Anyway, she still works. She’s scary, crazy, and even a tiny bit sympathizable with her being driven mad by the loss of Billy.

Also, I’d like to point that out for the people who say Mrs. Loomis has 5 seconds of screen time before the reveal, her and Mickey actually have a few scenes. It’s just that the film didn’t make them stand out.

Derek is whatever. If there is one reason you might suspect him for being the killer, it’s that he is cringy enough to start serenading Sidney at the lunch table. Then there's Sydney's college friend, Hallie, who doesn't do much. However the couple in the opening kill have some great meta horror commentary.

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But what has to be one of my favourite characters from this entire series, an unsung hero if you will, is the Scream 2 addition of Cotton Weary. This was the guy in Scream 1 who Sidney put in jail after she was convinced he killed his Mother, when actually it was Billy. In Scream 2, he appears and gets his own character portrayal, played very convincingly by Liev Schreiber. The role putting him on the map as an actor. Now, this guy is exactly how I’d expect someone who has been wrongly convicted of murder and almost put to death to react. He’s eerie enough with his repressed anger to be a suspected killer, but proves his innocence and likeability by the end by choosing to save Sydney.

Back to the returning cast. Randy this time has a stronger role: hopelessly vying for the affection of Sidney who’s with Derek. And he and the new cast of characters being in a film studies class allows for more spoken parody of the genre. Unfortunately, Randy, fan favourite character, dies off-screen in Scream 2. Wes Craven admitted himself this was a mistake, and they desperately tried to remedy this, by having a pre-recorded Randy appear in 3, and later adding in a new character, an off-brand Randy, to Scream 5. But, I think the franchise recovered from his death and the fact that he dies at all is certainly shocking.

Back to Scream 2. Gale and Dewey’s actors at this point were married, although between films the characters split up, so here we have a slight re-tread of the first film with a build up to their relationship. Gale tries to act nicer, while Dewey is colder, so it’s a bit of a role reversal. The pay-off I quite like though and it lends to some funny and heart warming scenes. And a more dramatic fake-out death. How mad do you think people would have been if both he and Randy got axed in Scream 2?

Now for the kills. The opening boyfriend’s death in the bathroom is so silly and one of the few low points. First, how could Ghostface possibly know where his ear is? Also, how the heck did he plan for him to go to the bathroom? I mean, how long has Ghostface been there!? My fan theory is that Ghostface kills him for knocking on the door and interrupting him. Or that this other Ghostface at the urinal is Mrs. Loomis.

Luckily the follow-up kill on the guy’s girlfriend is much more believable and theatrical. She’s stabbed in a theatre, with a bunch of people dressed in Ghostface masks. Still not entirely realistic, I think someone would’ve noticed a stabbing in a crowded cinema, but it’s memorable and gets the job done.

The third kill is blonde woman. Now I would’ve preferred an established character here, but her death is decent enough and relevant to Sidney being at a party. She gets a thrilling chase, where the most defence she puts up against a psycho killer is throwing a bike at him. I think what makes this scene is definitely the cinematography and Ghostface’s acting. The panned down wide-angle shot of the girl’s body is good, and I like Ghostface’s fast turn with the pull focus, the iconic blood wipe, and getting all of that topped off with a great banger from the soundtrack. 8/10 just for that.

Randy’s death. Very controversial, very unceremonious. He gets the bloodiest one in the film, and it's completely off-screen. If they were going to axe him off, they should’ve showed it. But I do like this tense scene beforehand and the build up, which involves him taunting and enraging Ghostface over the phone.

Now, as I said before, Dewey doesn’t actually die here. But this leadup to it is actually my favourite scene out of all the films. 1 through 5. Going backstage across a maze of soundproofed recording booths, with Ghostface and the two fan favourite returning characters now as a couple, I just found really intense and could not stop watching it. To be honest, Scream really isn’t terribly scary as a series, not to me personally at least. But this moment scared me the most. The constant tracking of Gale as she navigates the corridors and rooms, while smartly showing Ghostface off-centre on the screen searching for her and failing.

Since I was talking about being scared earlier though, another really intense scene is the cop car chase scene. The jump scare as he appears in the car works, and then you have Ghostface drop kicking another guy in the face. I’m sorry, that’s just really funny. But the impaling death is so brutal and probably inspired later Final Destinations. I doubt that he’d be alive after that, but still cool.

Hallie's death. I didn’t care much about her but she was alright. Again, the suspense leading up to this scene in trying to get out of the car is simply excellent. The camera is focused on Ghostface the whole time, with him in the back view of the car. It's highly thrilling, and I was waiting the whole time for Ghostface to wake up and scare them. Although he never does, not until he scares the audience and both Hallie and Sydney for real after they escape. A slightly predictable death, but well choreographed.

Derek’s death was okay, in context it’s pretty depressing, and Neve Campbell sells the emotional reaction.

As for the killers, I think both Mrs. Loomis and Mickey are good, and their deaths were as well. Mickey I especially like. Ultimately though, they both needed more screen time for us to warm up to them and be sad to see them go. Despite them both being murderous psychopaths.

Overall, Scream 2 is a solid sequel, with a lot of fantastic additions like Cotton, Mickey, Mrs. Loomis, and thrilling, prolonged chases. It has some weaknesses, sure, such as the twist ending, and a few moments that just fall flat or don’t make sense. Everything else though I think is strong and the writing is tight, especially considering it was made one year after the first. Also by the same writer, Kevin Williamson.

Scream 3

A lot of people have serious problems with this movie, and it’s not hard to see why. It’s unequivocally the worst Scream film, but it’s not entirely the writers’ fault. Scream 3 had a myriad of problems, most of which were before it entered production. Scream 3 was greenlit in 1997, months before the Columbine shootings. Around this time, the media industry was under heavy scrutiny, with the motives of the shooters being blamed on violent films. Not a good combination with the Scream series, where the killers have a habit of saying that "they did it for the movies".

Because of this issue, going into Scream 3, the whole production team had several clear instructions to avoid controversy; the first was less violence. That’s problem number one. In Scream, it could get pretty bloody, and 2 went ahead with a slashed up face and a stab to the head. Scream 3’s kills are all very basic. One stab to the front or the back, but usually the back so we can’t see it at all.

Some characters even die when a single stab wouldn’t realistically kill them.

Problem 2. The writer for Scream 1 and 2 Kevin Williamson was too busy, and they decided to hire a new guy who hadn’t been involved at all in the production of Scream. He had Kevin’s ideas, but they were almost completely unusable, since the killers were intended to be high schoolers. That’s another problem. Not only that, they couldn’t use the location the series was set in, Woodsboro, at all. Because it’s a small town. Again, parallels. So they decided on Hollywood. I actually think that was a smart move, and it made it fun. Also, there were two Columbine shooters. So there can’t be two killers either. And that created the biggest issue of all for this film, which is, the story just straight up does not make sense. Everything the killer does is borderline impossible for him to accomplish on his own.

The last thing I’m going to bring up is the issue of the voice changer. Are you really trying to tell me a film director, not even a technician, or a sound mixer, is capable of creating a device that can perfectly alter your voice and replace it with somebody else’s? When you don’t even have samples for their voice? We don’t have that technology now, and it’s two decades later. The only way this can be excused is for the opening kill, on Cotton, who is a talk show host. If he’s on TV all time, then yeah, maybe. This film takes way too many leaps in logic, which is the main issue. The more you watch it, the more the cracks show.

Anyway, characters. And if I’m being completely honest, out of every single Scream film, I think the cast of Scream 3 is the best. Hallie and Tatum added nothing, and the less said about the Scream 4 group the better. Now look at 3. Jennifer is a really fun character. Tyson, while not super memorable, has some great one liners. Angelina is kind of dull, but two out of three is way more than the other films. Also, if there is one thing I love about Scream 3, it’s actually how cosy it feels. Yeah, this is the only Scream movie where on multiple occasions, the whole gang of Sidney, Dewey, Gale, and the decent cast I already mentioned, are all together in one place running from the killer. Now that’s really fun. It doesn’t make sense, why they don’t try to tackle Ghostface with four people, but the camaraderie is entertaining nonetheless.

Speaking of Dewey and Gale though, the part of this film that makes the most logical sense is the ending. And to its credit, it ties up things very nicely, and leaves you feeling like the series is resolved. Sidney is at peace and happy with where she lives, and Dewey and Gale get married and have their happily ever after.

Roman Bridger is the solo killer of Scream 3, and I actually quite like him. Not because the writing for him is good, because his whole backstory in being born from Sidney’s Mother is so convoluted. But, like a lot of the killers in this series, you can’t help but smile because his actor Scott Foley is having the time of his life doing this. So, good for him. Roman’s acting is fun. I’m a bit neutral on the retconning of the first two and it all being part of his master plan, plus the writing for Roman is shoddy. But, as a killer, he’s a convincing psychopath. Unfortunately, he is not in the film AT ALL before his reveal. Why!?

So, onto the kills. The very tame kills. Cotton and his girlfriend are sadly the first to go, which I’m still salty about. It’s such a waste to kill him early on, when he’s a still new, really interesting character. At least give him the half-way mark. And the dramatics of his girlfriend believing he is actually a murderer trying to attack her, when his whole arc in 2 was Cotton trying to disprove that, feels like a slap in the face.

The second kill isn’t that much later but it feels like there’s such a big gap between Cotton and her. An actress gets some witty lines about having to play a sexy dumb blonde. The shot in the dressing room, with her hiding behind the coathangers and Ghostface peeking behind, is really nice. Even though Ghostface riding on the coathanger racks later is kind of silly, especially when he walks so menacingly after it. And she dies to a single stab wound to the back…? Well, just don’t think too hard about this one.

Then it’s onto my personal favourite kill. The Ghostface frying pan kill. At this point with how hard they’re trying to avoid violence in this movie by making it a cartoon, you might as well bring out the anvils and foam swords. It’s so ridiculous that I love it. But, don’t worry, he doesn’t instantly die to a frying pan. He dies instantly to a stab in the back.

If you thought it was already getting ridiculous, next up is the explosion in the house. All of them risk their lives in the pitch black to read a script slowly faxed to them by the killer. Then one of the guys in their group says I’ve had enough, and goes back in, BY HIMSELF! If you’re scared, why are you running away from the nice, friendly group of people by the poolside who can protect you? And yes, the explosion that killed him makes no sense. I don’t think the whole house would go up from a match and some methane. And why didn’t any of them notice the smell of gas in the air?

Angelina dies because she also stupidly abandons the group, and falls to her death. Her dead body is shown afterwards, in an extremely cheesy high angle shot of her being dragged away.

Jennifer, the best new character, also dies because Dewey does not shoot out the glass mirror that was visibly shaking. And he clearly noticed this, from Jennifer banging on it for help a few seconds ago. Uh, hello!? Why couldn't you save her, Dewey? What a terrible way for her to go out.

The comic relief character Tyson then dies from being tripped up by a carpet. Yeah, the carpet looks heavy, I don’t think that would work rolling it like a mattress. Then an old man who sexually assaulted Sidney's Mom in the story dies, so who cares. And lastly Roman. I really like that Sidney seems to have some level of sympathy or even respect for his death, because they’re related. It’s the only killer death scene where you actually care a little about them. So that’s good. And it leads into the satisfying ending.

That’s it for three. It’s too long, a little boring, and not very believable, but the characters are at their peak here and I think the writer Ehren Kruger should start making character comedies! Because he’s actually pretty good at that. Just not murder mystery. But to end on a positive note, there are definitely worse horror sequels out there, and I think I’d rather have something like this than pointless blood and guts.

Thanks for reading!